The livestock sector is one of the fastest growing segments of the agricultural economy, particularly in the developing world. The global demand for meat, including beef, pork, chicken, and lamb, has tripled in the past 50 years – due primarily to a growing global population. This increased demand for meat is paralleled by rising temperatures and sea levels, i.e., global warming.

While on the surface these might seem like two separate phenomena, a closer look reveals the undeniable link between meat production and climate change. The relationship between the livestock industry – the rearing of animals to produce dairy and meat products – and climate change is becoming more apparent with population growth and globalization influencing a global shift towards the so-called Western Diet, which is basically pounds and pounds of meat (usually red meat) paired with high amounts of saturated fat and sugar.

A new study adds to the evidence that eating red meat on a regular basis may shorten your lifespan. Past research has tied red meat to increased risks of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. The studies have also pointed to an elevated risk of mortality from red meat intake.

Factory farms are the largest user of land resources globally, with 80% of total agricultural land used to grow the crops that feed animals. On a global scale, a meat-based diet requires almost three times more land than a plant-based diet. As populations continue to grow and meat demand increases, more and more deforestation is likely to occur, too, to make room for pasture lands for beef cattle. Forests are crucial to maintaining biodiversity in wildlife and also are important carbon sink lands, absorbing carbon dioxide from the environment.

Cutting down trees releases all the absorbed CO2 – putting it back into the atmosphere – and irrevocably damages wildlife habitats – contributing to an increase in endangered species by rupturing whole ecosystems paired with biodiversity loss. Meat production uses a lot of water; approximately 10% of water flow worldwide is used for rearing livestock. This is a considerable amount when we consider the threat of water scarcity as populations increase and climate-change-induced droughts become more frequent.

While the consequences of climate change are immense and often difficult to digest, being more informed about the impact of your individual choices can make all the difference. Knowing the meat and dairy industry’s negative environmental impact might give you the motivation you need to reduce your animal product consumption and welcome more greens and grains into your diet. However, the grain prices keep rising due to the livestock farming, which makes it even harder for the poor to afford them. This cycle gets vicious with the passing of time: the increased prices of grains increase the prices of the livestock feed and thus products as well. To break this cycle, it is advisable for people to cut down on eating red meat to help reduce not only grain prices and global warming but also water consumption.